Central Atlantic Ocean floor

E95729

The Central Atlantic Ocean floor is a vast underwater region characterized by mid-ocean ridges, fracture zones, and sediment-covered abyssal plains formed by seafloor spreading between the Americas and Africa-Europe.

Aliases (1)

Statements (45)
Predicate Object
instanceOf ocean floor region
submarine physiographic province
associatedWith linear gravity anomalies along fracture zones
magnetic seafloor spreading anomalies
boundedBy Africa NERFINISHED
Americas NERFINISHED
Europe NERFINISHED
characterizedBy abyssal plains
fracture zones
mid-ocean ridges
sediment-covered seafloor
contains Mid-Atlantic Ridge NERFINISHED
abyssal hills
fracture zone valleys
sediment drifts
transform faults
coveredBy pelagic sediments
turbidite deposits in some basins
developedSince Mesozoic era NERFINISHED
formedBy plate tectonics
seafloor spreading
hasBathymetryRange approximately 3000 to 6000 meters water depth
hasCrustType oceanic crust
hasProcess basaltic crust formation at spreading centers
hydrothermal circulation near ridge axis
sediment accumulation on abyssal plains
hasSpreadingRate slow to intermediate
hasTopography relatively flat abyssal plains away from ridge
ridge-and-valley morphology along ridge axis
influences deep ocean circulation pathways
distribution of deep-sea ecosystems
locatedIn Atlantic Ocean
Central Atlantic Ocean NERFINISHED
mappedUsing multibeam bathymetry
satellite altimetry-derived gravity data
seismic reflection profiling
olderToward continental margins of Africa-Europe
continental margins of Americas
originatedFrom breakup of Pangaea
partOf World Ocean NERFINISHED
global mid-ocean ridge system
separates American plates from African and Eurasian plates
studiedBy geophysicists
marine geologists
youngerNear Mid-Atlantic Ridge NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Bahama Banks ("Atlantic abyssal plain")
borderedBy
African Plate
includesRegion

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